Do You Care What Others Think?

photo credit: Tomme040

My husband and I have had this conversation many times.  We are different.  We have come to realize just how true this is recently.  We are different because we live how we live.  We have no debt, we have a VERY small income and we make it work no matter what the sacrifice is that we have to make.  Making those sacrifices also makes us different, because we don’t have money to go out and hang out with others.  We don’t have money to go on trips and visit places.  We made the choice a long time ago to live within our means and that has made us different.

The question I still haven’t figured out is if that makes us weird…  I still have no answer for that, but even if it does, it is what we have chosen and how we want to live.  Some day we will look back on this time and be so grateful we chose it.  We have so much more then so  many around us that choose to live the “fun” life and get deep in debt.  I think we also have challenges that come with this choice that others will never have.  But it is those challenges that bring us closer as a family and stronger in our conviction and love of the Lord.  We are stronger for it.

So again I ask the question to myself and others, Do you care what others think?

For me personally I do care, but I am learning to get over it.  I have my moments where I think to myself, “if I do this or don’t do this, how will others see me?”  But I have learned to take some time and step back and instead of looking at others and what they think, I am trying to make my husband proud and the Lord proud.  I do care what others think, but I care more what the Lord thinks and if I am living his Gospel to the fullest.  Living what I know is right and true.  If I can’t do that, then I am not being true to myself and if I can’t be true to myself then others wont ever find me as a person they love and want to be around.  So in the end.  I don’t.  Or I should say, I try not to.

I was reading this great post by Jen about her van.  I have never had that type of a car, but it got me thinking about all this and if I care what others think of me.  I realized some things about me and my frugal journey and the things it has taught me over the years I have been living this way.  I learned that I am not perfect and never will be.  I have learned that there are more free things out there then you could have ever thought possible.  I have learned that living this way is hard.  You feel very alone at times and sometimes it is all you can do to keep your head out of water while trying to hold your family up as well.  I have learned that even finding one frugal friend is like having 200 non-frugal friends.  Because more then anything that friend makes you feel normal again.  Not different, not weird, but normal and like you are living your life the way you should.

You, my readers are those friends for me.  I sometimes feel more alone in this frugal journey then I have ever felt before.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being that support for me and making me feel normal again.  Helping me to see the light and the better path.  The path of living what I know is right.  Your comments and sharing of posts with others makes me feel like I can keep going and that I will make it.  So thanks for being there friends!  I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope I can be that friend and support for you too!

So one more time I ask this question, Do you care what others think???